Hans Graf von Sponeck

Hans Graf von Sponeck (12 February 1888-23 July 1944) was a Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was imprisoned in 1942 for retreating against orders, and he was executed three days after the failed 20 July plot.

Biography
Hans Graf von Sponeck was born in Dusseldorf, German Empire on 12 February 1888, and he served as a battalion adjutant in the Imperial German Army during World War I. From 1924 to 1934, he served on the General Staff HQ, and he was one of the generals who would have supported a coup by aristocratic army officer Werner von Fritsch against Adolf Hitler if called to do so. During World War II, Von Sponeck commanded a fallschirmjaeger division, taking part in the Battle of the Netherlands in 1940. He also commanded the 22nd Infantry Division during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and he was given command of the XLII Armeekorps on 3 December 1941; he was responsible for the murder of Jews and Romani people in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust. On 30 December 1941, he withdrew his corps from Kerch in the Crimea to avoid encirclement by Soviet Red Army landing forces, and he was later sentenced to death for disobedience against Erich von Manstein's orders. Manstein had Hitler commute the sentence to seven years in prison, and he was imprisoned at the Germersheim Fortress. On 23 July 1944, three days after the 20 July plot, Gauleiter Josef Buerckel convinced SS leader Heinrich Himmler to allow for him to execute Von Sponeck, although Von Sponeck was not involved with the German Resistance. Von Sponeck was executed, and he was revered as a hero and commemorated by a golden plaque in Bremen and by several military bases until a 2014 article revealed his involvement in war crimes. In 2015, his memorial block in Bremen was removed and the Sponeck Airbase renamed to "Sudpfalz-Kaserne".